A third suspect in an alleged area-wide auto-theft ring has been charged with conducting a criminal enterprise, aka racketeering.

Jordan Tyler Gray, 23, of Detroit arraigned on the charge earlier this month in 37th District Court in Warren and faces a probable-cause conference today in front of Judge Michael Chupa.

Gray is the 11th person to be charged as part of an alleged auto-theft ring that is being prosecutor by the Michigan Attorney General Office’s FORCE unit that also involves Michigan State Police, the Troy Police Department Special Investigations Unit, Detroit police, Macomb Auto Theft Unit, Oakland Auto Theft Group and other local police departments.

Officials said the ring was responsible for the theft of over 400 vehicles worth approximately $8 million in Southeast Michigan by targeting storage lots, car dealerships, parking lots and residences. The first six arrests were made in May 2024, and another four arrests were made last January.

The Troy unit, in conjunction with the Macomb unit, announced Gray’s arrest Monday in a press release, indicating that over several months investigators connected Gray to dozens of motor vehicle thefts, with thefts occurring from the west side of Michigan extending as far as Massachusetts. Investigators said they utilized social media evidence, phone tracking and mapping, and surveillance of Gray to establish his involvement.

A search warrant executed at Gray’s residence on the day of his arrest yielded key evidence, including numerous key fobs, a “significant amount” of cash, and a stolen Glock switch, tying him to the criminal operation, officials said.

The racketeering charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Gray is being held in the Macomb County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.

The Macomb Auto Theft Unit and Troy Special Investigations Unit also teamed to David Pierre Franklin, 41, of Detroit, and Barron Hatcher Jr., 24, who also face a racketeering charge along with a charge of burglary-tools possession, as part of a separate ring, officials said.

Franklin last week waived his right to a preliminary examination in the Warren court and faces arraignment next month in front of Judge Matthew Sabaugh in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

Hatcher, who previously waived his exam, in February rejected an offer from Macomb prosecutors to plead guilty to the charges and receive a sentence of five years in prison. He faces a May 21 pretrial and October jury trial in front of Sabaugh.

Hatcher and Franklin are accused of stealing more than 25 Dodge Durangos from metro Detroit auto dealerships, such as from Galeana’s Van Dyke Dodge/Ram on Van Dyke in Warren along with ones in Troy, Highland Township and Grand Blanc.

The FORCE investigation has been aided by the police departments of Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Canton, Dearborn, Detroit, Eastpointe, Farmington Hills, Lansing, Livonia, Novi, Roseville, Royal Oak, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Walled Lake, and Warren, as well as the Oakland County Auto Theft Group and Macomb County Auto Theft Unit.

The Troy Special Investigations Unit is comprised of officers from the Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Royal and Troy police departments.